A curious detail caught our eye in a recent press release from the Philippine Tourism Promotions Board: a rendering of the Philippine Pavilion for World Expo 2025 in Osaka prominently features the American flag.

Not the Philippine flag, whose pavilion it ostensibly is. If it were Japan’s flag, that might make more sense—the host nation, after all, often figures into such imagery.

But the U.S. flag? It’s an odd choice. This isn’t about being anti-American; that’s not the point. We’re simply asking: what message is this supposed to send?

We understand it’s just an artist’s rendering—but symbols matter, and design choices, even accidental ones, say something. Was this a deliberate nod, a design oversight, or a case of plain old sloppiness? At best, it’s an odd lapse. At worst, another instance of carelessness that might later be chalked up to “miscommunication.”

We’re not jumping to conclusions. We’re just asking. The comment section remains open to anyone from the concerned entities who’d like to explain.

The image in question appeared in a press release published by the Tourism Promotions Board on its Expo 2025 website. We’ve included the link in the comments section of our Facebook page.